


Too Soon

by cerezsis



Series: Steven Universe Human AU [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Blood and Gore, Human AU, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Near Death Experiences, Premature Birth, Premature Labor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 21:16:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20896226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cerezsis/pseuds/cerezsis
Summary: Winona Damon is pregnant with baby #3. All is going well… until it’s not.





	Too Soon

“Good morning, Mrs. Damon,” the young secretary greeted.  
The 45-year-old CEO barely even nodded in response as she headed to her office. She was far too busy to bother with pleasantries. The new summer collection was due to launch in less than a month, and there was still so much to do.  
Winona closed the office door behind her and immediately began shuffling through papers. She groaned internally as she caught a glimpse of the clock. She had barely a half hour until her first conference call. Normally she arrived to work at least an hour earlier than she had that day, but the small bump in her abdomen had caused her to run behind. This was her second pregnancy and third child, so she knew well all the ways it could slow her down, but this one was already causing her more grief than the twins had. Perhaps it was because she was much older than she’d been when she had Yvonne and Beatrix, but _stars_ she was so much more tired this time around. It was bad enough that her unborn daughter had a habit of using her bladder as a trampoline, but add in the round ligament pains, and trying to sleep was impossible.  
Just as she always did, Winona pulled herself together in time for the conference call. It was the usual talks of which rings should be the center focus of the commercials and which bracelets should appear largest in the print adds. About halfway through the call, Winona stood up from her desk to retrieve the file of sample earring ads, when she felt a painful tightening in her abdomen. A small cry escaped her lips, not unlike the sound one would make after stubbing their bare toe on a sharp corner.  
_Round ligament pains again,_ Winona rationalized, _I stood up too fast._  
The conference call continued as planned, but Winona wasn’t as focused as she’d been before. This tightness in her abdomen had never happened before, and she couldn’t shake the feeling of unnerve. The remaining hour and a half of the call could have been pure static for all she knew. She was too preoccupied with the persistent thought that she needed to call her OBGYN.  
Winona started to breathe easier as the executives and heads of marketing and advertising began their words of departures. She had a few hours until her next meeting, which would give her plenty of time if her doctor thought her concerns warranted a trip to her office. Just as Winona was about to say a hasty goodbye, she was silenced by the feeling of something warm gush between her legs. Her immediate thought was that the baby had hit her bladder too hard, but that went out the window when she saw her white skirt rapidly turning red.  
“Mrs. Damon are you still there?” an executive on the other line asked.  
Winona had already slammed open her office door before the question had been fished. The intern screamed at the sight of her, alerting the sea of cubicles to their boss’s plight. Winona found herself unable to move as blood pooled at her feet. Her body was shaking and sweating as she felt the color quickly drain from her face. Half the room was frozen in fear, and the other half was rushing to her aid. The lights were getting dimmer. Her secretary caught her as she fainted.  
Her last thought before completely blacking out was of the stillness in her abdomen.  
\--  
“What do you mean you’re delivering the baby!?” Yvonne screamed at the attending nurse. She and Beatrix had been in school when they got word of their mother’s condition. Naturally, they’d left immediately for the hospital. Beatrix hadn’t stopped crying since they got in the car. “Mom’s only five months pregnant!”  
“Ms. Damon, normally we’d try to hold off delivery for as long as possible, but the placenta has detached completely,” the nurse explained, “With the amount your mother is hemorrhaging, if we don’t deliver now, both she and the baby _will_ die.”  
Beatrix cried harder. Yvonne’s jaw clenched, and her hands were balled in fists.  
“What’s going to happen to the baby?”  
“We’re going to do all we can for her Ms. Damon, but in my professional opinion, 24 weeks gestation is far too early for there to be a predictable outcome. Her odds of surviving are anywhere from 30-50%.”  
Yvonne’s jaw clenched tighter. She didn’t like those odds.  
“We’ll notify you when your mother’s out of surgery,” the nurse went on, “If the damage to her womb is as bad as the doctor’s predicting, we might have to perform a hysterectomy. We’ll keep you two updated.”  
Yvonne nodded. As the nurse hurried off, the elder twin turned her attention to her crying sister.  
“It’s going to be ok, Bea,” Yvonne assured her as she sat down in the seat next to her, “You know mom. She’s going to pull through.”  
“B-but the baby,” Beatrix sobbed, “Y-Yvonne, our b-baby sister…”  
She couldn’t complete her sentence. Yvonne held her as she began to cry harder.  
\--  
The sound of consistent beeping was the first thing Winona heard as she started to come to. She tried to recall what had happened and where she was, but getting her thoughts straight was like trying to navigate through a maze in a sea of fog. Opening her eyes, she could make out two tubes attached to her arm; one for an IV drip and one for a blood transfusion. Something attached to her finger was monitoring her pulse and heart rate. Still clouded in confusion, she tried to sit up, but was stopped by her attending nurse.  
“It’s too soon Mrs. Damon,” she advised.  
Right on cue, Winona felt a sharp pain spike through her abdomen. She hissed as she laid back down, instinctively placing her hand on what should’ve been her baby bump. It was then that it all came rushing back to her.  
“My baby! Where is she?”  
“She’s in the NICU, Mrs. Damon. You’ll be able to see her tomorrow morning.”  
“You will take me to see her _now_,” Winona demanded.  
“Mrs. Damon…” The nurse chose her next words carefully. “Due to the damaged caused by the placental abruption, we had to perform a postpartum hysterectomy. The doctor doesn’t want you out of bed until tomorrow.”  
Winona stared blankly at the nurse. She wasn’t sure how to process that. She hadn’t planned on having more children after this one, but a hysterectomy…  
She decided she’d have to figure out how she felt about that later. What truly mattered right now was her baby.  
“What’s happening with my baby? Is she…”  
“She’s not doing great, but it’s too soon to come up with a prognosis. Babies born at this stage are very touch and go.”  
“So what you’re saying is my baby could die at any moment, and you’re not even going to let me see her?”  
“That’s not what I-”  
“No, let me finish,” Winona interrupted, her tone quickly shifting from one of fear to anger, “Do you know who I am? I’m Winona Damon, founder and CEO of Damon’s Diamonds. I could buy this whole hospital if I wanted to. I will not sit here and be told what to do by someone who’s worth less than my Porsche. Now, go do whatever you have to do to get me to my baby girl, or I will have your job!”  
The nurse stood there for a moment, speechless. Finally, she walked out of the room without another word. Winona waited, impatiently, for her to return with a wheelchair and whatever else she needed to make her mobile, but instead she was greeted by an agitated looking Yvonne and a clearly hysterical Beatrix.  
“How are you feeling, mother?” Yvonne asked, though her tone sounded like she’d rather be asking _“Why on god’s green earth are you threatening the hospital staff?”_  
“Where has that nurse gone to?” Winona demanded.  
“Mother, _please_,” Yvonne begged, she and Beatrix moving to stand at their mother’s bedside.  
“You just had major surgery!” Beatrix added, “You need to rest.”  
“What I _need_ is to get to your little sister,” Winona protested, “Have you two seen her yet?”  
“No, but-”  
“We’ll go together then. One of you go get the nurse.”  
“_Mother_-”  
“Don’t you “mother” me! I’m the parent, you’re the child! _Y__ou_ listen to _me_! Now one of you go bring that nurse back here or so help me I’ll-!”  
“Alright, alright, mother!” Yvonne said, mostly out of fear Winona would end up reopening her wound if she didn’t calm down, “I’ll talk to the nurse and see what I can do.”  
Winona was satisfied enough with that response. Yvonne left the room, Beatrix following close behind her. She didn’t like being alone with her mother when she was angry.  
After much arguing with nurses and doctors, and having to sign several wavers stating she understood the consequences of disobeying doctors’ orders, Winona was finally wheeled down to the NICU, her teenage daughters following alongside. It had the most depressing energy out of everywhere else in the maternity ward, riddled with sick babies and scared parents. The Damon women were soon at the side of the incubator labeled with their family name. Beatrix gasped, Yvonne’s eyes widened, and Winona stared blankly at the much too tiny creature that was housed inside of the incubator. She was skinny, wrinkly, and hooked up to so many tubes and wires. Her delicate eyes were covered with a tiny eye mask, too sensitive for the fluorescent lights of the hospital. She was so still, the only indication that she was alive coming from all the machines she was hooked up to. The twin sisters looked at each other, communicating without words that this thing looked more like an alien creature than a baby.  
“I’m sorry to say that I can only allow you to look at her,” the doctor explained, “She’s too weak to be held, or even touched right now.”  
Winona was silent. Yvonne and Beatrix were silent. This little thing was so fragile. How could it ever fulfill the dream of the bright young heiress they all envisioned?  
“Well, I’m assuming you’ve had time to examine her,” Yvonne said to the doctor, “What’s the prognosis?”  
“As I’ve already explained, Ms. Damon, I can’t say for sure at this point. Things can change from minute to minute.”  
“But what about _this_ minute?” Beatrix begged, “What are things looking like _this_ minute?”  
The doctor’s expression dropped.  
“Right now… I wouldn’t encourage getting your hopes up.”  
The twins expressions dropped alongside the doctor’s. They’d expected as much, but to hear it out loud…  
“Piper,” Winona finally spoke.  
All eyes turned to the new mother.  
“Pardon me, Mrs. Damon?”  
“Piper. Her name is Piper.”  
\--  
It had been three weeks since Piper Damon was brought into the world. Though she was on doctor’s orders to get as much rest as possible, Winona hadn’t missed a second of visiting hours. She’d been warned several times that her recovery time would be much longer if she didn’t take it easy, but, as she often did, Winona dismissed their concerns in favor of her own instincts. Nothing would keep her from her baby, especially not today.  
Winona sat in a curtained off area in the NICU, little Piper in the incubator beside her. Unbuttoning the last button of her blouse, she watched in anticipation as the nurse removed the impossibly tiny baby from her incubator. At long last, Winona’s newborn was placed on her bare chest, a baby blanket provided by the hospital placed over them.  
The mother smiled at the baby, who, though still connected to several wires and tubes, was finally where she was supposed to be; in her mother’s arms.  
“Hello Starlight,” Winona softly said.  
Piper’s eyelids began to twitch. She didn’t need to keep her eye mask on for as long of periods anymore, and just a few days ago she opened her eyes for the first time. Winona hadn’t been lucky enough to be there to see it, and Piper had still yet to open her eyes during visiting hours. Maybe now she’d finally get the chance to look into her daughter’s beautiful eyes.  
Winona gently ran her finger down Piper’s pencil thin arm, stopping when she reached her impossibly tiny hand. The nurse had gone to tend to another family. It was just the two of them now.  
“Baby mine, don’t you cry,” Winona began to sing, “Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine.”  
Piper’s eyelids continued to twitch. She was clearly reacting to her mother’s voice.  
“Little one, when you play, pay no heed what they say. Let your eyes sparkle and shine. Never a tear, baby of mine.  
“If they knew all about you, they’d end up loving you too. All those same people who scold you, what they’d give just for the right to hold you.  
“From your head down to your toes, you’re not much, goodness knows, but you’re so precious to me. Sweet as can be, baby of mine.”  
As the song came to an end, Piper’s tiny eyes fluttered open. Winona smiled proudly as she held onto the baby’s doll sized fist. Her eyes were a bright blue, though were likely to change as she got older. Winona hoped they’d turn gray, like her own.  
“There you are,” she quietly said to the baby.  
As quickly as they were open, Piper’s eyes shut again. Though it felt too soon, Winona was so happy to finally see it.  
“We’re all so excited to bring you home. We’re already almost finished with your nursery. Everyone’s told me not to get my hopes up, but I know you’re a fighter. You’re a Damon, after all. Soon you, me, and your sisters will all be together in the estate. You’ll have many toys to play with, you’ll want for nothing. Doesn’t that sound lovely, Piper?”  
Though her view was obstructed by the breathing tube, Winona could’ve sworn she saw Piper smile.

**Author's Note:**

> The song Winona sings to Piper is Baby Mine by Bette Midler.


End file.
